Entries in Bartlett Tree Experts
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Memorial park, with oak trees and waterfalls. Image: Manhatten Development Corp.One morning, a young man living in New York City was preparing to leave his apartment for work when he heard a radio announcement that a plane had crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre. From his window, he could see smoke rising from the destruction and ran up to the roof of his building for a better view. There, he saw another plane crashing into a second, south tower. Worried about the fate of his wife, who worked only a few blocks away from the crash site, Michael hopped onto his bicycle and sped to find her.

The path of the second plane about to hit the WTC, http://gregorylee.org/WTC.htmAlthough hie found his young bride safe from harm, the horror of the experience, and the agony of the desperate people milling about at the scene of destruction, affected Michael deeply. In the nights that followed, when he was unable to sleep, he would attend vigils set up around the city, where ordinary citizens would come together to share a moment of understanding.

At the time, Michael was an architect who had given up a career with a prominent architectural firm so that he might work for the New York City Housing Authority. It seems that Michael preferred designing police stations rather than office buildings. That choice halved his income and truncated his professional growth. He did not mind; He was happy.

As the son of a foreign diplomat, Michael and his family spent their lives in many different countries; there had been no place to call home. New York City, which he and his wife adopted after graduating from University, had not yet made him feel welcome. Now, the night vigils with other city dwellers gave him a strong sense of belonging.

Michael's memorial, newyorkinsiderguideWhen the dust of the 9/11 tragedy literally settled, the need for a memorial to its victims became apparent and a competition was announced. Michael wanted to participate by creating a symbol for the experience of the night vigils that had comforted him.

However, his decision to enter the competition turned out to be audacious because, as a municipal employee, he had no team or partner for professional support. Nevertheless, his submission so moved the selection committee that, in spite of his lack of back-up organization, they declared him winner from among the 5,200 entrants from 63 countries.

Waterfalls, reflecting pool and the Void, gizmoweb.orgPrior to WW2, commemorative monuments celebrated victory and glorified war. They focused on traits such as valor, fortitude, patriotism, and gratitude to fallen soldiers. However, in the post WW2 era, the expressive nature of such memorials changed.

After 1948, the void, created in the lives of those that did not perish, became the artistic focus of many public tributes. For example, the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington D.C and the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, are stark, minimalist forms that evoke the emptiness and emotional numbness of those that survived to remember.

Close up of the waterfalls , 911memeorial.orgMichael’s monument echoes that contemporary sentiment as well. His is.....a starkly simple tribute consisting of a pair of square reflecting pools that evoke the footprints of the Twin Towers. Trees, arranged in informal clusters, clearings and groves, form the serene backdrop for the recessed pools, which are defined by a cascade of water. Ramps lead to the underground memorial space.

According to Michael, “As they descend, visitors are removed from the sights and sounds of the city and are immersed in cool darkness...

As they proceed, the sound of water falling grows louder and more daylight filters in from below....

At the bottom, they find themselves behind a curtain of water, staring out at an enormous pool, which is surrounded by a continuous ribbon of names....

The enormity of the space and the multitude of names that form this endless ribbon underscore the vast scope of the destruction".

The waterfalls symbolize a continuous sense of absence...Time moves forward but the absence is persistent...

A view from among the trees, dinainfo.comMichael’s original submission called for only a handful of trees while the surrounding public spaces were to be left barren. That stark emptiness created such an uneasy feeling among the committee members that they asked Michael to add landscaping to soften its emotional impact.

For that important project, Michael reached out to Californian landscape architect, Peter Walker, who filled the emptiness of the eight-acre memorial site with over 400, identical-looking and same-sized, White Swamp Oak trees. These were planted in an “abacus bead” alignment, i.e. orderly rows when viewed along an east-west axis but naturally randomized when seen from north to south.

"These trees have been grown with the most intensive tree growing in the history of the world by Bartlett Tree Experts who will continue to care for them for at least two additional years. Because urban growing conditions can be detrimental to some plants, each tree has a GPS system to monitor the tree's health, care and size. Staffers can follow every tree as it is planted at the memorial and keep following it to see if it develops any issues".

White Swamp oak leaf, duke.eduThe oak tree is the national tree of the U.S.A, while the White Swap variety represent the five states where most 9/11 victims resided. Not only do the trees add a symbol of renewal and re- growth but also when they reach a mature height of 60 feet, their crowns will inter mesh to create a dense natural canopy over the entire plaza. Then, only the powerful, symbolic voids will receive uninterrupted light from the sky. Even though they are continuously being fed with water, these voids will always remain empty.

A close-up of the reflecting pool, coolgreenmag.comThe site, known as Ground Zero, opened to the public in September 2011. Its creator, Michael Arad, once an unconnected newcomer, but now integrated into New York City life - and once again, a practicing architect - aptly named his memorial meeting- place, Reflecting Absence.